The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations

by Daniel Yergin

Imports” for China means everything from iron ore from Brazil to soybeans from Iowa to components from Vietnam that will be assembled into products in China and sold into the world. But inevitably, imports mean energy. For energy has been the foundation of the country’s extraordinary economic growth. Energy fuels the global manufacturing platform that is the “workshop of the world.” Rising incomes in China mean more building, more infrastructure, more cars, more air travel, and ever-more energy use. In 2009, China overtook the United States to become the world’s largest energy consumer; today it alone represents almost 25 percent of world energy consumption. Chinese demand will continue to grow, but the rate will slow as services and domestic consumption become a larger share of the economy.